The phrase inert fibrous nanomaterials may sound like a sophisticated way to describe certain trends in technological advancement, but this phrase describes materials that are dangerous to the human body. One such example of an inert fibrous nanomaterial is known by the infamous name, asbestos. But what does it mean that asbestos is an inert fibrous nanomaterial, and how do these kinds of materials cause damage to the human body, leading to severe illnesses? Here’s what you should know.

Is it Worse Than We Thought?

Last week, Medriva published an article about a groundbreaking study in Nature Nanotechnology’s journal. The article dealt with the health risks of inert fibrous nanomaterials including asbestos and fiberglass, but the groundbreaking nature of the journal article had to do with correcting a misunderstanding about the danger of these types of materials. According to the article, the kinds of inert fibrous nanomaterials used today in the construction industry have largely been considered safer by comparison to older examples of materiales que contienen asbesto (ACMs). This may not prove to be true, however, and that’s because the danger is not restricted to their chemical composition. 

According to the findings of the French-Chinese research team, inert fibrous nanomaterials are chiefly dangerous because of their geometrical characteristics, specifically their size and shape. It seems that this consideration downplays the supposed safety concerns that ACM alternatives were meant to alleviate. According to the research, this problem was identified by an examination of the macrophage cells. 

Asbestos and White Blood Cells

Macrophages are a type of white blood cell responsible for eliminating foreign bodies that make their way into the lungs. The problem with inert fibrous nanomaterials is that they are too big for this cell to dispose of. Over time, this inability to get rid of these nanomaterials can result in significant health compromises in the body. For example, repeated inhalation of these materials can cause lesions in the lungs and the eventual development of tumors.

How This Relates to the Historic Issues of Asbestos Exposure 

Asbestos exposure has been an issue for as long as asbestos has been used by mankind. In other words, this is a multi-thousand-year-long issue! However, many of the health effects of asbestos exposure were not known, or at least remained undocumented, until the early 1900s when scientists began making the connection between the development of severe lung diseases and workers in the asbestos industry. During this era, asbestos was not the buzzword it is today. Instead, asbestos was highly praised and proudly placed on advertisement labels, and company names, and even given the honor of city-naming, such as El asbesto in Quebec Canada (now named Val-des-Sources). 

Nearly every building constructed before the mid-1980s contained asbestos. A lot of it is still out there.

By this time, asbestos usage had taken a highly industrial turn, resulting in massive production and new cutting-edge manufacturing processes. This increased companies, employment, and ultimately, health risks. Decades later, the dangers of asbestos were public knowledge and there was a strong pivot to start replacing asbestos-containing materials with safer alternatives. 

Certainly, this was a massive undertaking, not to mention a slow and gradual one. For decades, the industrial era in America had produced asbestos-containing materials as staple materials in the construction industry. In fact, asbestos was literally involved in construction from the ground up, being found in the following materials:

These are just a very short list of ACMs in the construction industry, not to mention the numerous household products that once contained asbestos, such as hair dryers and irons. The mid-1980s represented the beginning of phasing out ACMs in America with supposedly safer alternatives but numerous reports of supply chain materials in the construction industry state that ACMs remained on job sites into the mid-1990s at least. 

Asbestos is the environment

What is the takeaway of this? First of all, this means that any structure in America built prior to this phasing out of ACMs should be assumed to contain asbestos in some form. The fact that asbestos was used in these buildings is not in and of itself a danger. What makes this dangerous- and what caused the industry to replace ACMs has to do with the same concerns brought up regarding inert fibrous nanomaterials. Asbestos is safe insofar as it remains undisturbed and undamaged. 

However, when asbestos does become damaged or disturbed, the tiny fibers can become airborne. Detached from the materials they were once used to strengthen (cement, insulation, etc.) airborne asbestos can be swallowed or inhaled into the human body. 

Health Outcomes of Asbestos and Other Inert Fibrous Nanomaterials

Like the size and shape-related concerns of inert fibrous nanomaterials brought up in the research article, asbestos fibers are either needle or curl-shaped fibers that become lodged in the body, causing irreparable damage over time. This analogy is true, even when comparing asbestos and silicon, both of which have aptly named diseases associated with their names: asbestosis and silicosis. The process and outcome of these diseases can often prove fatal, due to trapped tiny particles in the lungs or other places in the body. 

Many health diseases associated with asbestos, including cancer

This concern is especially true for asbestos exposure, and part of the difficulty of asbestos exposure has to do with the plethora of diseases and cancers associated with exposure. For example, asbestos exposure can range from illnesses like asbestosis or pleural plaques, but because asbestos is a carcinogen, exposure symptoms can also progress to life-threatening cancers such as lung cancer and the most lethal type of asbestos cancer, mesothelioma. 

Growing in Our Knowledge of Asbestos Dangers

While this latest research regarding inert fibrous nanomaterials is being called by some as a watershed moment, it remains to be seen how this will sway the medical opinion of ACM replacement materials. At the very least, however, this research provides a fresh yet needed revisit of how and why asbestos exposure is damaging to the human body. 

Despite the microscopic size of asbestos fibers, their shape and size can cause irreparable damage to the human body once inside. Knowing this is helpful since it reminds us about the need to protect ourselves from asbestos exposure in the first place. Asbestos can be lethal in any amount, regardless of how someone is exposed.